Week 14 Ups and Downs: Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers

Overall impression from Week 14 vs Panthers

As a fan watching the game, it was one of the most frustrating contests watched so far this season. Both the offense and defense made uncharacteristic mistakes and the offense wasn’t clicking like usual, making this an odd feeling game.

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Offensively, Case made some bad throws and bad decisions that we haven’t really seen to this point. Poorly placed passes and questionable decisions hampered the passing game, but he wasn’t helped by receivers who dropped too many passes as well.

On defense, Everson Griffen has been double-teamed all game, making him nearly a non-factor for much of the game. The real surprise is that Danielle Hunter wasn’t able to take advantage of his matchup on the opposite side to have a big day with many pressures or sacks.

Injuries to the offensive line were the scary part of this game. Already being without Remmers, Minnesota lost Reiff as well, forcing Sirles to move from left guard to right tackle and bringing in rookie Danny Isadora. Hopefully, this unit can get healthy for next week.

As a whole, it’s easy to be disappointed by this performance, but it’s hard to complain too much about a Vikings team that is 10-3 on the season and overcoming everything they have to this point. This loss will sting for a bit, but in the end, it will be okay and could be an anomaly.

Next: TVA Week 14 predictions vs Panthers

The Viking Age will be back next week with more Ups and Downs from Week 15 when the Minnesota Vikings finally get back to U.S. Bank Stadium to host the Cincinnati Bengals in a game where they can clinch the NFC North championship.